soonbeamWhen people look for an alternative to Gmail or Outlook, they usually mean one of two things. They want their email away from Google or Microsoft. Or they want to work with their email differently.
Those are two very different switches. This guide helps you work out which one you need, then lists the options for each.
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The short answer
The short answer- Want your email away from Google or Microsoft? Choose a provider like Proton Mail, Tuta or mailbox.org, and plan a move.
- Want to spend less time on email? You don't have to move. Choose a different app and keep your address.
- Have an address on your own domain? It stays yours, whichever you choose.
1First decide: your provider or your app?
Your email has two sides. The provider is where your email arrives and is stored: Google, Microsoft, or the company that hosts your domain. The app is where you work every day: the Gmail app, Outlook, or something else.
You can replace them separately.
- A different provider: your email lives somewhere else afterwards. That's a move: you tell your domain where email should arrive, and you bring your old email along.
- A different app: your email stays where it is. You connect your mailbox to the new app and carry on.
2European alternatives to Gmail and Outlook
If you want your email away from Google or Microsoft, these three come up most. With all three, you need a paid plan for an address on your own domain.
| Provider | Where | Free plan | Your own domain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Proton Mail | Swiss company | Yes | On every paid plan |
| Tuta | Servers in Germany | Yes, for personal use | On paid plans |
| mailbox.org | Servers in Germany | No, 30-day free trial | On paid plans |
- Proton Mail has apps for phone and computer, and a tool called Easy Switch that brings over your email from Gmail, Outlook or any other provider that uses IMAP.
- Tuta has apps for Android, iPhone, Windows, Mac and Linux, and keeps all data on its own servers in Germany.
- mailbox.org is a plain, no-nonsense mailbox with data centres in Germany, and online storage, video calls and office documents alongside it.
Prices change often and most providers run offers, so check the current price on their own site before you choose.
One thing to know: a new provider changes where your email is stored. The work itself, reading every email and typing every reply, stays exactly the same.
3A different email app, and your address stays
If you mainly want to work differently, a new app is the smaller step. Two well-known ones:
- Thunderbird is free, for Windows, Mac, Linux and Android. An iPhone version is being built, but isn't available yet.
- Spark has a free version and paid Plus and Pro plans, for Windows, Mac, iPhone and Android. In Pro, it can write a draft reply for you to review.
These apps look different from Gmail or Outlook, but the work is much the same: you read every email and decide every reply. Apps with built-in writing help produce a whole draft, which you then check and fix.
4Or: an app that gets your replies ready
Soonbeam is also an email app, but it works differently. You connect your work mailbox, whether it's with Gmail, Google Workspace, Outlook, Microsoft 365 or your own domain at any host. Your address doesn't change, and there's nothing to set up: no rules, no filters, no labels.
When a customer emails, Soonbeam pulls out the questions and asks what you want to say. If a customer writes "Could you deliver forty sandwiches on Friday?", you tap "Yes, that's fine" or "Saturday suits me better". From your choices, Soonbeam writes the reply in your own words, because it learns from emails you've sent before.
- If Soonbeam isn't sure about an amount or a date, it asks you. It never fills in the blanks on its own.
- You read every reply before it goes out. Soonbeam never sends anything by itself.
- Your email is stored in Frankfurt and our server runs in Amsterdam. To read and write, we use language models from Mistral (France) and Anthropic (United States), with training switched off at both.
- It runs in the browser on your phone and computer. Apps for iPhone and Android are on the way.
Soonbeam costs €39 per user per month, excluding VAT. It's invite-only for now: join the waitlist and we'll email you when a spot opens up. It's made for freelancers and small teams where each person has their own mailbox, not for a support desk with a shared inbox.
Which one fits you?
| You want | Look at |
|---|---|
| Your email away from Google or Microsoft | Proton Mail, Tuta or mailbox.org, and plan a move |
| A free, familiar app on your computer | Thunderbird |
| A modern app with a draft writer | Spark |
| Less time on replies, also between jobs | Keep your address and look at Soonbeam |
Before you move to a new provider
Switching provider is a bigger job than switching app. A short list to get it right:
- Find out where your domain is registered. That's where you change where your email is delivered.
- Set up your addresses with the new provider first, then switch the delivery settings at your domain.
- Bring your old email along with the provider's import tool, such as Proton's Easy Switch.
- Update the email apps on your phone and computer, and keep the old account until you're sure everything arrives in the new place.
Questions
Can I keep my email address if I switch?
Yes. If you switch to a different email app, nothing changes about your address. If you switch provider, an address on your own domain stays yours, but you need to tell your domain where to deliver email from now on.
What is a European alternative to Gmail?
Well-known options are Proton Mail (a Swiss company), and Tuta and mailbox.org (both with servers in Germany). For an address on your own domain, you need a paid plan with all three.
Do I have to set up rules or filters in Soonbeam?
No. You connect your mailbox and that's it. Soonbeam finds the questions in each email and gives you answers to tap.
Can I keep using Gmail or Outlook next to Soonbeam?
Yes. Your email stays in your own mailbox, so the Gmail or Outlook app on your phone and computer works as normal, and you keep your address.
